How often do yu guys clean out your dies?

243yote

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Apr 2, 2009
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I have read alot of articles on cleaning this and that but have never read anything on cleaning dies and seaters. So are there any special precautions? :rolleyes:
 
Depends...... maybe once a month or month and a half for my decapping/resizing dyes, unless Im not loading alot. If I see a dimple on 1 brass I clean it out immediately. And I clean it out every time I swich bullets on the seating dye,(Hornady SST's to Nosler Accubonds) shapes/weights etc. They could go quite a bit longer, and will now that I have them ''tuned'' exactly where I want them, but Im a clean freak with my loading bench and components.
I guess I may start to wait till I see a problemb now, instead of routinely every x amount of rounds. It would sure save alot of hassle getting them right back where I had them:D.
 
Cleanilng dies, shellholders and bushings is often overlooked. I peek inside my dies with each use. If I see any dirt, I spray them with brake cleaner and wipe with a Q tip. Take the sizer die apart, spray the expander and its stem, wipe with paper towel. Seater die, very important - remove the seater stem and thoroughly clean the meplat cup (where the bullet tip goes). Wipe it dry with a Q tip. Die threads also need to be cleaned.
 
I have read alot of articles on cleaning this and that but have never read anything on cleaning dies and seaters. So are there any special precautions? :rolleyes:

for my first round, using a brass that is even in thickness all the way around, when I put it together I check the out-of-round on the bullet, if I get two or three rounds that are more than 0.002" then I clean both dies. Usually that solves the problem. I'm normally happy with 0.002 and will keep the 0.003. Any thing higher than that I use for practicing, zeroing in, etc. :)
 
"...have never read anything on cleaning dies and seaters."

Well, seaters are dies too. We don't read much about that because it's not very complex. I think of them sorta like my car and clean 'em when they're "dirty", not on a schedule. :rolleyes:
 
I use a water based lube when FL sizing so I tend to clean my dies after every use with very hot water and dry them using compressed air. I also wipe out my seating dies after every use because they often get bullet jacket material in them. It's a simple matter of just unscrewing the seating stem and wiping out the die with a soft cloth.

I also spray inside and out with WD40 or similar before I put them away into their boxes. Rust is your enemy when it comes to rifle dies!

gun)
 
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